Category Archives: photo

Chasing a G650

Today is another tale of chasing a plane. As with my quest for a JetStar, this is another business jet that I wanted to shoot. Gulfstream’s latest product is the G650. It has not had a trouble free development program but finally has achieved certification and deliveries are starting. Since most jets go to completion centers to be fitted out, actual in service jets are still relatively uncommon. One of them came to Midway recently and I decided to try and get some shots of it.

It was originally due to arrive a little while before sunset. Since it was a cold but clear day, this presented an excellent opportunity to, not only get the shot but, get it in very attractive light. It was is that convinced me to go in the first place. However, I was aware of the chances of arrival slipping and the jet turning up after sunset. I got to Midway in good time and was lucky to be there in time for a nice Global Express arriving. Was this the battle of the big jets? However, the 650 had been delayed leaving and was now scheduled to arrive at sunset. Given that the forecast arrival times is usually a little optimistic, I realized that things weren’t going to work out perfectly.

Sadly, the lovely light disappeared and then the 650 called up on approach. There was still light enough to get some shots but not those that were what I had hoped for. However, in time to come, the 650 will become a lot more common so I guess I will get one in better conditions before too long.

Century Link Field

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Just south of the station in Seattle is the pair of sports fields that house some of the cities franchises. Century Link Field is the home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Sounders MLS team. Beyond that is Safeco Field where the Mariners play. I had a quick look at Century Link Field while I was passing. Since the season was over, everything was very quiet. The field was gated so I couldn’t go in. There may have been tours available but I wasn’t there with enough time to look around properly.

The field was quite open next to a large parking lot so getting a full view of it was not tricky. The evening light was very directional with the harsh shadows but it was still not too bad. I also climbed up the steps to peer inside. You could see a good portion of the ground but the light was again quite harsh. Below I also include an aerial view taken when I was coming in to Seattle.

Seattle Union Station

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The main station in Seattle is King Street Station. It is served by the Coaster commuter trains and the Cascades service that runs from Oregon up to Vancouver in British Columbia. What I didn’t know is that there used to be another station nearby. Union Station ceased to have rail service many years ago and deteriorated over time. However, as part of a redevelopment program in the area, the building has been restored and now is part of a larger development area.

Inside the station is a main hall that is really quite impressive. It does not appear to be terribly busy. A few office workers would transit through but a bunch of other people seemed to be hanging out inside since it was warmer than outside! I couldn’t resist taking a few shots and also had a go at a 360 pano to boot.

The One That Got Away

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No photo to show here. This is about one that didn’t happen. I was driving back towards the city just after sunset. The Kennedy Expressway runs east towards the city away from O’Hare for a while and the line of the freeway is the same as the approach path for one of O’Hare’s runways. As I drove down it, there was a line of aircraft on approach, each showing up with their landing lights on and with the closest aircraft showing clearly against the remnants of the light in the sky.

Add to this the enormous full moon that was almost perfectly in line with the planes and you had the sort of shot that you see online every once in a while and think how cool it looks and maybe it was faked. This wasn’t faked. however, my cameras were in the trunk and I was driving on the expressway so there was no way to get the shot. You will have to take my word for it. It was that good!

Cabs are Shrinking

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When we arrived in Chicago nearly ten years ago, the cab fleet was almost totally homogenous. If you got in one, it was almost definitely going to be a Crown Vic. Over the years, a few Prius (should that be Prii) started to show up. Now the a Crown Vics are becoming a minority as newer vehicles that are predominantly hybrid take over the fleet. Having slightly smaller vehicles makes a lot of sense given that there are often few occupants. However, as I walked home the other day, I passed the lone of taxis outside the IBM building and the car at the front of the line caught my eye. A Ford Fiesta! Now that really is a shrink!

Seattle From Above

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When the wind is coming from the south, the approach to Seatac airport between Seattle and Tacoma takes you almost directly over downtown Seattle. We actually could see Everett off in the distance with a lot of large airplanes parked up awaiting delivery but that was too far off to get a usable shot, particularly with the lens I had fitted. However, approaching Elliott Bay, we got a really nice view of the lakes and the downtown area.

Cities always look very different from above. What is large on the ground seems far more insignificant from above and what is a long journey on the surface is passed by in a heartbeat. That is part of the fun of being in the air. Of course, it does mean you have to grab the shot quickly!

Snowy Mountains

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One thing I don’t seem to give up on is the hope of getting a good shot out of the window of an airliner. My experience has been that it is hard to do. The quality of the windows is not great and the distance is sufficiently far that haze and other issues can result in something that just looks a bit washed out. Post processing to try and overcome that has limited results. Translating what you see into an image on the screen is rather tricky.

However, I don’t give up. Even if the shots are not the greatest, they do show a view that you don’t normally get and are worth having just for that recollection. Snowy mountains, however, do seem to translate better. Maybe it is because you are slightly closer to the peaks or maybe it is because they are almost a gray-scale anyway that color shifts are not a problem but they seem to reproduce better. I was flying across the Cascades recently and grabbed these shots as we went.

Consistency of Message

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While walking around Navy Pier, I came across a sign that amused me. This sign was on the structure surrounding the beer garden. I think there is a bit of a contradiction going on here…

Trump Tower

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Walking back from Navy Pier, I came back along the river towards home. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, I was effectively heading into the sun. Not ideal for taking pictures but the reflective nature of the Trump Tower ahead of me seemed to be picking up light from all sorts of directions. It seemed like a good shot to take. Shooting the Trump is something that requires some thought. It is rather tall and fitting it in the frame without making it distort too much means being quite far away. I also played with a little HDR to see if that helped and it turns out it did!

Getting up someone’s nose

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I have shot many times at O’Hare over the years. There are a few locations that provide opportunities but they do depend on the time of day and the approaches the jets are making. I was out there recently and wanted to try something different. I didn’t know how well it would work out but wanted to experiment. I checked out what was due in and found a time in the schedule when nothing unusual was coming in. Without the need to make sure I got something that was uncommon, I could risk not getting anything at all for a while.

I wanted to get more directly under the approach path. This is something that I have done before at Washington National but I have had less success at O’Hare. I went out a little further on the approach. The jets were a little higher but I wanted to see what I could get. You end up with both a slightly more head on shot and also get to look right up as they pass overhead. I like the view which is slightly less conventional. Winter is probably a good time to do this since the sun is lower in the sky and the snow on the ground provides a bit more light on the underside avoiding the silhouettes more common in the summer.